Atari 2600 power mod

[Jones567]

Hi I have a Atari 2600 that I don't have a power adapter too and I got this idea of putting a barrel power jack on it and tried it out and I got nothing on the screen when I powered the Atari on my question is if it is even possible to put a barrel jack on the system if not then I think I might have to buy a new jack because I messed up the other jack when I took it off

[+Stephen Moss]

If you are asking if it is possible to replace the 3.5mm Mono Jack with a more standard 2.1mm DC power connector the answer is yes. Not done it myself but it is just a question of fitting it into the case somewhere and wiring to the corresponding 9V and 0V (GND) connections in the PCB.

Just make sure you have the polarity the right way round, the tip of the original power unit/socket is +ve and the outer/back section is -VE (0V/GND) otherwise the unit will not turn on and you could potentially damage some of the ICs.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Most 3rd party NES and all Genesis, Famicom, and Turbografx adapters share the same negative polarity tip. If you get the polarity wrong, you could blow the giant cap inside, and an original AC NES power brick would not be pretty.

Best stick to the 1/8" phono connector. My Atari PSU broke so I fabricated my custom 6-in-1 frankendapter. One wall wart to rule them all...

 

[Osgeld]

Yes as Stephen says just got to wire it to the correct points in the proper polarity

 

A knock against the stock connector is that phono plugs briefly short out when being plugged or unplugged

[ApolloBoy]

I did this on my 4-switch while I was modding it with the 2600RGB. What I did was desolder the original power jack, drilled out the hole in the middle slightly so the new jack would fit, wired it all up and it looks and works great.

Edited May 26, 2016 by ApolloBoy